Fear Me
by Findabhiar Aery
Summary: Sarah has grown up a bit... And moved along in her life. But what is going on with her dreams? And what about lingering regrets? What happens when love is not perfect? JS because I know we all love this, but not the emo angst sort.
1. Introducing Sarah

_"Fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." The Goblin King stared at the young girl beseechingly, his voice clipped, charming under ordinary circumstances._

_"I can never remember that line…" She seems to have not heard him and looked off in the distance._

_"Sarah…"_

_She stared at him as it came to her, "You have no power over me."_

Sarah woke up with a gasp. For the past seven years, she had dreamed of the Labyrinth, and its keeper. Falling back onto her soft bed, she smiled and shook her head at childish fantasies.

Looking at her alarm clock, Sarah registered the time. It was almost time for her to be up anyway, so she struggled out of the grips of her blankets and stumbled for the bathroom.

"Morning Sunshine…" Amy sat at the breakfast buffet watching Looney Tunes and eating cereal. Sarah and Amy had been roommates since first year university, and were struggling together in the 'real world'.

"Meh…" Sarah had never really been a morning person. She struggled over to the counter and poured herself a cup of the coffee Amy had made.

Black, steaming, beautiful, coffee. "I love coffee… I want it to father my children." She breathed in the lovely smell and took a large sip. Eyes rolling into the back of her head with the pleasure of it, "Bliss."

Amy looked at her, mildly scared. "You know that your reliance on coffee frightens me, right?"

"Oh yeah."

"Fair enough."

They sat in companionable silence watching the rest of the cartoons. Amy looked at Sarah as she chewed through a large spoonful of Cocoa Puffs. "Hey, Sarah? You have weird dreams last night?"

"No, not really. Why?" She looked at her in surprise, and then went back to her beautiful drink.

"Oh, just heard you calling out, 'Oh Jareth! Fuck me!'" Amy smiled evilly as she mimicked Sarah in a high-pitched voice, "But other than that, no reason."

"What!? I did not!" Sarah winced. "I don't even know a Jareth, for your information." She nodded emphatically.

"Nice try Muffin. I definitely heard you say Jareth. I heard you even in my room. Could this be a new mystery man?" Amy leered in Sarah's direction, milk dribbling off her chin. Sarah turned slightly crimson, and gathered her long chocolate-brown hair into a high ponytail with a elastic she found on the counter.

Amy looked at her with a smirk, and then sighed jealously at Sarah's beautiful, thick hair. "Nothing to say, hmm? What a surprise."

Staring at Daffy, Sarah just shook her head, a signal for Amy to back off. Amy took another big mouthful of her cereal, and shook her head sadly in Sarah's general direction. "Too bad, might have been a funny story… Well, funny for me at least."

"Ok then, do we have bread?"

"No."

"Do we have milk?"

"No."

"Do we have eggs?"

"No."

"Do we have any more cereal?"

"No."

"Do we really have any food?"

"No."

"Huh." Sarah stared into her coffee for a moment. "Are you gonna go grocery shopping today?"

"Nope."

"Wow. Even together we do not make a responsible adult."

"I don't have a problem with it."

"Huh, me neither." Sarah giggled into her coffee before turning to go shower. "We will need chocolate later though."

"On it."

Walking into the publishing house where she worked as a junior editor, Sarah reflected on how happy she was compared to those dark days of the Labyrinth. She was twenty-two, she had a great apartment, she had a great job that she liked, she got on well with her family and friends… She really wanted for nothing. Why then, was she still dreaming of that place?

"Hi Sarah, there are a few phone messages that I put on your desk as well as a few manuscripts that James wanted your opinions on." Sarah's assistant Julia smiled up at her as she walked into her office.

"Thanks, how was your weekend?" She picked up the messages and rifled through them with a slight frown. There were a few of the minor writers that she looked after that she really didn't like talking to sometimes.

"Great, actually. You should have come to the pub with us all, it was fun." Julia smiled at her boss, who was in truth, more like a friend. Sarah was so charismatic, that people generally just gravitated to her.

"Wish I could have, but I had a date. No, it didn't go well, he stared at my boobs for most of the evening." Sarah made a face and wandered into her office as Julia laughed.

"Ok… don't want to call him… Don't want to call her… We owe him money… He's irritating…" Sarah organized her messages into categories of levels of frustration that she knew they would cause her, and decided that the callbacks could wait until after her lunch. She put her feet up on her desk, and started going through the manuscripts.

The publishing house she worked for specialized in children's literature, and she was generally the first one who read manuscripts from new writers. It could be frustrating, but sometimes she really found a few gems. It appeared it would not be that sort of day.

"Wow…" If she had to read another Harry Potter-wannabe, she would smack something. This one was based on a character called Sally Caughter, who just learned she could do magic and was trying to go to a special school for magic. "Brutal." She threw the manuscript into her rejected bin for Julia to file later.

"Ah good, another Eragon… huh, Baby-Sitter's club… Lord of the Rings… Wow, really no original thought left is there." She tossed manuscript after manuscript to the side, and rubbed her forehead absently, and admired her new shoes for a minute.

Julia leaned her head in, "I have a few more if you're finished with those. Ooh, nice shoes."

"Send them in…" Sarah smiled up at her. "They can't be any worse than these."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Julia laughed and put them on Sarah's desk. "Let me know when you would like some lunch."

"Thanks."

Sarah had been wrong… They were worse. She finally got to the last one, and sighed. Hopefully there was something new and exciting about that one, which would have to wait until after she ate."

As she reclined in the chair across from Julia in her office, eating a big hamburger, she sighed, and relaxed. "Mmm, grease."

"So tell me about the guy." Julia fixed her with a look, as she ate her non-greasy salad. Damn Sarah and her metabolism.

"Nope, he's not even a footnote of a footnote." She wiped her mouth, and took a big gulp of the milkshake.

"Why do you have such a hard time with men? You have so many friends, you're pretty, you have a nice body. Are you swinging for the other side?" Julia smiled as she took another big bite of lettuce. She grimaced and stared at Sarah's fries, brightening up when her friend offered her the container.

"Why Julia, you're really not my type…" Sarah laughed. "Honestly I have no idea. There's always something wrong… Maybe my standards are too high?"

Julia looked thoughtful as she stuffed a few more of the delightful deep-fried potato into her mouth. "Maybe… You usually have a good reason for not going out with any of them though. Perhaps you're just meeting the wrong sort of men."

"Probably." Sarah smiled. "What about you? How are the wedding plans going? Are you letting Rick have any say?"

"Of course not, what do men know about weddings after all?"

"Nothing." They both laughed as Julia rattled off seating issues. Sarah sat back smiling.

_"And you Sarah," The Goblin King put a hand on the wall above the girl's head, and leaned down to her, smiling in a feral way, "how are you enjoying my Labyrinth?" _

_"It's a piece of cake." She raised her head to glare at him defiantly. _

_"Really, the how about upping the stakes, hmm" He smiled at her raising a hand to point at a large ornate clock that had appeared behind him. The dial started turning quickly, running down her time. _

_"That's not fair!" The girl exclaimed._

_"You say that so often," He turns back to face her, "I wonder what your basis for comparison is," as he walks past her._

_The Goblin King turns to face her once more, "So the Labyrinth is a piece of cake is it? Well let us see how you deal with this little slice…"_

Sarah sat up in bed, and sighed. This was getting old. Her heart was racing, and sweat was beaded on her forehead. As always, she was shocked at the affect on her body that these dreams had sometimes. She lay back in her bed, and slowly pulled up the large t-shirt she wore as a nighty.

Sometimes, she just couldn't help herself after these dreams. The antagonist of them seemed to turn her on in the most extreme way. Sarah ran a hand under her lacy panties, and found herself wet.

As her back arched off the bed and she moaned to herself, she thought of the man who inspired such lust, and if he was even real. Sometimes she wondered if everything that had happened in the Labyrinth was part of her 15 year-old self. Her world spun as she gasped into the night air.

"Jareth…"

Sarah sat down at her desk, and rearranged her knee-length pencil skirt across her knees. A new day, new manuscripts. She grabbed the first one, and grimaced as she realized this was the last one from yesterday, the one she had not gotten a chance to read as other things had popped up. As soon as she picked it up, she felt a flash of electricity run up her arm, and she dropped the package with a loud gasp, her hand tingling.

"What the hell…" She massaged it with her other hand, feeling the after-affects of something akin to static. The manuscript, lying on the floor where it had been dropped, appeared innocent, and with bemusement Sarah reached down to pick it up, expecting to be shocked again, and mildly surprised when nothing happened. "How odd."

"By J. Smith. What a superb name to try to advertise with…" Sarah rolled her eyes. Surprisingly enough, however, J. Smith was actually the most ordinary name she had encountered from writers who commonly thought up eccentric and strange pen names. "Working title, _The Beginning_."

Sarah had a checklist that she went through every time she read a manuscript, that helped her rate the feasibility, and generally the title was the first thing she looked at, as it was one of the first things that the prospective readers saw. It had also been proven that the name helped determine who would read a book, as well as why. This name ranked a two out of ten. A mark was made on her list, and she moved on.

The manuscript was quite good, though a little rough in places. It centred around a small boy in the faery courts of Tir Na'Nog, who was a prince of the court, haughty, and yet sympathetic, and his trials at the hands of a man who wished to control the courts. While fantasy was currently en vogue, this story had the feel of longevity. Sarah began to be excited, this might be a gem.

Sarah could almost visualize this main character, who was not named (something that would have to be remedied to provide a more sympathetic protagonist). He had wild, bright blonde hair, and enthralling eyes, one blue, one bright green. Sarah had a strange feeling in the back of her mind that he was familiar to her, and yet she could not place him.

She loved the chapter of this rather long (something that might have to be fixed to appeal more strongly to the child demographic that they would aim at) that dealt with a gypsy telling the boy's future to him, as he sat arrogantly before her, and yet enthralled. Sarah spoke the worlds out loud to herself, "The way forward, is sometimes the way back. Quite often, it seems like we're not getting anywhere, when in fact we are."

These words struck a chord with her, like she had heard them somewhere before, and yet, again, she couldn't quite place it.

She was jolted out of her reading by the persistent ring of her telephone. Her private line, and it looked to be from her family. Smiling, she picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Sarah? Hi, it's Karen." Sarah smiled at the sound of her step-mother's voice. They had not gotten along in her teenage years, with Sarah still feeling the loss of her mother, and the jealousy over no longer having the full attention of her father. Since she was about sixteen, Karen, however, had become a very good friend to Sarah.

"Hi Karen! I haven't spoken to you in awhile. How's Dad and the boys? How are things for you at work?" Sarah reclined in her chair, settling in for a nice chat.

"Oh, everyone's the same. Toby has decided he hates school, but I'm sure that will pass as soon as they move on from this current spelling quiz. Aaron should say his first words any day. Your Dad is great, he's thinking about retirement, but I doubt it will ever happen. Work is fine, can't complain. How are you doing honey? Amy treating you well? How about work? Read anything interesting?"

They chatted for awhile longer before Karen mentioned to Sarah that they had found a box of her old things from when she was younger, and that Karen would bring it to her apartment next time she was in the city.

"Thanks Karen, give me a shout, and we'll go shopping and for lunch."

"Sounds wonderful, get away from all of these men that I live with. We still miss you, Toby always says you tell the best bedtime stories. I would feel insulted, but I think I agree." Karen said with a laugh in her voice.

"Why thank you. I'll let you go, as I probably should get back to work here. Like I said, give me a call. Bye Karen." Sarah hung up, and smiled at the contact with her family.

Her mother had been in and out of her life, but she was more like a big kid than anything. Sarah didn't begrudge her anymore for leaving. Her mother was not incredibly cut out to be a mother, as she was more of a dreamer. Karen had been the one to be there for when she was sick, when she struggled with school, her first crush, everything. Sarah also doted on her little brothers, especially Toby who she had a special affinity with.

She decided it was time for lunch, and forgot about the manuscript she had been reading so avidly just moments before.

_The girl found herself in a dream-like masquerade of exquisitely-dressed other-worldy dancers, looking for something… someone. And then she saw him, the Goblin King. Just as quickly, he disappeared from her sight. He watched though, as she stumbled around, being silently mocked by the dancers._

_She spotted him, dancing with beautiful women, who he left to come and lead her in a dance. _

_"As the world falls down… As the world falls down…"_

Sarah woke up as the clock chimed, both in her dream, and in the apartment's hallway. She did not even bother to sit up this time, as these dreams seemed to be happening more and more, and instead rolled over to scream softly into her pillow at the frustration of it.


	2. You Make Me Feel

Finally, the weekend. It could not have come sooner as far as Sarah was concerned. She loved her job, but everyone needs a break, even though, as she looked guiltily towards her desk in her and Amy's shared home office, she had brought a few stories home so she could leave early that Friday. Still, it counted as a break.

"Sarah? Margarita?" Amy yelled from the kitchen.

"Good God, you had to ask?" Was the reply she received, laughter closely following.

Sarah went back to getting dressed for the night ahead. Dancing with the girls. No thoughts of a certain figure who shall remain nameless to spoil her night out. She applied her dark eye shadow with a heavy hand, and laughed at the image she presented in her mirror.

Ever since those… thirteen hours, it had seemed that she didn't quite look her age anymore. She always looked younger than her peers, and she did a lot to disguise that now that she was in a professional world, in her twenties. Tonight, however, at the club, anything went. She laughed some more as she twirled fully in front of the mirror to take in just how little clothing she wore, that clung to her slender frame, and the wildness of her hair curled out, and sparkled.

"Like I don't care…" Sarah mumbled to herself, and she was happy with the result. Exactly what she had been going for. She chuckled at the fact that she was now talking to herself, and went to gulp down some of the sweet ambrosia that Amy had blended.

"Margarita… need alcohol…" Sarah closed her eyes and walked toward the kitchen with her arms outstretched, not stopping until she hit the breakfast bar. With a solid wack. "Ouch!"

"Serves you right, ya lush." Amy laughed as she poured the frothing pink drinks into glasses. "Where are the others? I thought Jamie was coming… and uhm, Clare, Grace, and Izzy?"

"Yep, around 9. No worries, they're not too late yet, just fashionably." Sarah took a large sip, "Almost better than coffee."

Amy smiled and started putting ice back in the freezer. "You know you have issues, right?"

"Don't I know it."

Sarah twirled with her hands in the air, "I LOVE to dance!" Amy laughed and threw her arms around her friend as they danced wildly to the pulsating beat.

"Drink?" Jamie leaned over to Amy and pantomimed a drinking movement to be understood over the music. She nodded enthusiastically to the question and gave Jamie a kiss on the cheek.

A new song came on, one of Sarah's favorites, and she threw herself into it with abandon, Izzy and Amy right behind her. Suddenly, a pair of hands found their way onto Sarah's hips and she stilled for a moment, before mentally shrugging and daring the stranger behind her to keep up.

She ran her hands through her hair and ground her hips back against him for a moment before dancing out of his grasp. Izzy laughed as she saw Sarah's game, and they started dancing together with wicked smiles as their closeness incited a few male admirers.

The hands found her hips again, and this time, Sarah allowed herself to be pulled back into a very male body. She smiled, and turned to see who was so persistent. He smiled at her wickedly, and tossed his wild black hair out of his eyes where it had settled, and spun her. Sarah laughed out loud and her hands found his shoulders when he pulled her back in tightly once more and ground his hard pelvis against her.

She danced away from him slightly, a finger wagging to tell him off, completely at odds with her smiling face. He followed her with an answering smile. Suddenly, Sarah gasped as something cold was held against her bare back.

"Your drink." Jamie leaned in close to shout in her ear with a wide grin.

Sarah moved away from her admirer to grab it, and take a large gulp of the beer. "Thank you darlin'! Next one on me, ok?"

"Oh no, not getting away from me that easily." The black-haired man grinned and pulled her back against him, causing her to choke a little on the mouthful of bitter liquid.

She laughed at his boldness.

_The Goblin King stepped out of the darkness of his destroyed world to stare at the girl, bathed in light._

_"Give me the child." She spoke._

_"Sarah, beware," He started moving toward her, "I have been generous up until now, but I can be cruel."_

_She looked at him in disbelief, "Generous? What have you done that's generous?"_

_"Everything!" He stated loudly, and then elaborated, "everything that you wanted I have done."_

_The Goblin King circled her closely, making her turn to face him. "You asked that the child be taken, I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening. I have re-ordered time, I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you!"_

_He took a deep breath, "I'm exhausted from living up to your expectations of me. Isn't that generous?"_

_The girl stared at him._

Sarah woke with a start, and looked around. For once, she had dreamt in a bed that was not her own. Quickly remembering where she was, she coloured slightly thinking about what had already happened in this bed. This was Finn's room. A thoroughly… charming man.

She looked down to see him, sleeping peacefully beside her, sleeping through even her nightmare. His black hair was in slight contrast with his pale skin, and she knew that his eyes shone with brilliant blue light. Sarah snuggled into his warmth for another moment, before sighing and sliding out of bed. Muscles ached that hadn't been used in… well, way too long.

Even though she knew it was wrong of her, she couldn't stay. Something inside of her rebelled at the idea of waking up beside him, when she knew that this was a one-night stand. She hastily scribbled a note of thanks and goodbye, and gathered her clothes to get dressed in his very nice bathroom, before leaving without a word.

Somehow, she was not surprised to see that it was storming outside as she tried to flag down a cab. It was the worst weather she had seen in a long time, and she shivered in Finn's borrowed t-shirt, which she had promised to return in her note.

She was so busy looking for an elusive yellow car, that she failed to take note of the snowy eagle who looked completely out of place sitting on a streetlight a few feet over her head. The rain seemed to be skimming off of this particular owl, and it stared unblinking at the top of Sarah's head. She didn't look up.

A taxi finally stopped in front of her with a squeal of outrage from it's brakes.

"Oh, it's you." The driver didn't turn to look at her even when she told him where she lived.

"Excuse me?" Sarah started, her eyes widening at the familiar voice.

"Sorry, ma'am, but I didn't say anything." He turned to her with a slight Russian accent in his concerned voice.

"Oh, sorry." She mumbled, and stared out the window at the streets speeding by.

Sarah sighed as she pulled off the pieces of fabric that was her clubbing clothes, and laughed as she realized just how small they were. She folded Finn's t-shirt, and put it on her dresser to wash before she sent it back to him. Pulling on her comfortable bathrobe, she wandered into her bathroom to wash her face of the night's excess. In more ways than one, she thought.

Taking a note of her swollen lips, she pulled a brush through her hair to restore it to some semblance of normalcy. Her hair was incredibly long, and as usual, she contemplated cutting it all off. It would be so much easier, and it would definitely go a long way to making her look her age. She shook her head, something always held her back. Instead, she put it into a loose French braid, and slowly moisturized her face, her nighttime regime.

Why do I feel like I got left behind? Sarah wondered as she reclined on her large pale gold chair, a good book clasped in her hand, sleep was going to take awhile. She could say honestly that she was happy, but there was always something slightly… off. Something that was not quite right.

She thought back on the events of earlier in the evening. Kissing Finn in the club… leaving with him, and pulling clothes off before even hitting his bedroom. Sarah smiled a secret little smile remembering the closeness of bare skin, and the pleasure. Sex was incredibly enjoyable to her, but she had never mistaken it for love.

Love… not a concept that she fully believed in. There was so much else to consider other than the feeling that had been espoused by poets for centuries. Love was not just a look, it was a mutual respect, trust, admiration, and lust. It was everything, but she barely dreamed of it, as in some part of Sarah's mind, she didn't fully think that she was capable of it.

Men had flitted in and out of her life for years. After those thirteen hours, she had found a new confidence in herself, and had used this to her advantage when it came to the opposite sex. Losing her virginity at eighteen to a man that had lasted slightly longer than the others had been a good decision, the right decision, but shortly after, she had lost interest in him. It would be the same with each that followed.

Finn had been fun… But that's all. Sarah smiled again thinking about how silky his black hair had felt between her fingers, how his muscular body had strained under her fingers… and where his tongue knew exactly where it was needed. She shivered, and shook her head.

Tucking her feet up under herself, she focused on the book in her hand, and would soon drift away as she read.

_"Sarah… be mine. Don't be cruel." Jareth looked at her beseechingly as she turned from him._

_She sighed, and looked at her feet. "There is nothing left. There is nothing more to say. What's said is said. Don't make this more difficult than it already is."_

_Sarah grasped her long heavy skirts in one hand, and walked out the ornate door. She could hear Jareth throw a crystal at the wall, and as it shattered into small pieces on the floor, she walked away._

"What the hell!" Sarah shot straight up in bed. It was one thing for her dreams to become more frequent in the last few months, but this was not what happened… It had felt so real though. She put a hand on her forehead, and lay back down.

"He had looked so sad…" She murmured. As Sarah reached for her glass of water, she did not notice the bubble pop over her bed. She looked back as she heard it though, and sighed when she saw nothing there. "I am going crazy."

Sunlight filtered through the open blinds to her bedroom, and she got up, slightly unsteady through the sheer amount of alcohol that had been consumed the night before, and made to get aspirin. She would wonder about this latest dream later… Her head was the most pressing matter now.


	3. A Short Trip to the Floor

A/N: Uhm, hello all! I hope everyone is enjoying this, this is my first attempt at a Labyrinth fic, and I'm trying to keep it close to reality, because sometimes the scenes that people try to write introducing Jareth to Sarah's friends/family seem incredibly contrived and incredibly self-indulgent. Let me know if you like it... Or not... Your choice. I know this chapter is short, but I'm trying to sort out a part of the plot right now.

Sarah was in a little bit of a dilemma. How to return Finn's t-shirt without actually facing him. Sending it through the post seemed just way too impersonal after having sex with the man, and yet, she just didn't want to face her one-night stand.

She decided on the best course of action: do nothing. Not caring if it made her feel like a coward, she started in on her weekend plans. One full afternoon sitting inside the Century theatre watching old movies and eating as much popcorn she could fit in her stomachache without throwing up twice. Once was fine, twice was just a sign of gluttony.

Chomping through the buttery goodness, she watched Audrey Hepburn charm her way through _Sabrina_. This was what Sarah loved; losing herself in movies. It didn't truly matter which movies, she generally enjoyed all of them. And she indulged in this love one Saturday every month. It was in the darkness of the theater, all alone, when she felt like she was truly… at peace. She didn't have to worry about the outside world, she didn't have to think. Just feel.

Sarah sighed as she saw tears rolling down Audrey's flawless white cheek. It was going to be a good weekend. She reclined fully, reveling in the sheer comfort of her low slung track pants, and tank top. This was a bit of the fun of her movie days, wearing whatever suited her.

The theater was almost empty, which made her tense as she sensed someone sit down directly behind her. Out of politeness, and the fact that this person was sitting down in the middle of _Sabrina_, which in Sarah's books amounted to blasphemy, she refused to look back, and was soon lost in the story once more. Even after seeing it how many times, it just never got old. _Gone With the Wind_ was on next, and she was also looking forward to that.

Sarah's thick rich hair was bound high on her head in a nod to the incredible heat of August, and she jumped as she felt fingers trail across the back of her neck. Whipping around, she could see no one sitting there, and no one else in the theater at all, save an elderly gentleman in the back left corner who kept mumbling about Humphrey Bogart's lisp. Thoroughly confused, and spooked, Sarah decided her sugar level was obviously too low, and went to the snack bar for some chocolate.

Regaining her seat sometime later, sugar level decidedly improved and gaining speed, she settled in for the remainder of the movie.

_"Sarah…" Jareth's head shook from side to side as she moved over him, with a slow grinding action. She smiled wickedly before leaning down to softly bite his nipple._

_Suddenly, she found herself on her back with Jareth leaning over her with an answering smile. "You'll pay for that…"_

_He moved his hips pulling out slightly, to her disappointment, before slamming back into her with a grunt. She moaned, and scratched her nails down her back. "Jareth…Don't stop."_

_"I never will." His head arched back with a shout as he came hard, contracting deep within her, smiling as Sarah started contracting on him in her own release. _

This time, when Sarah woke up, it was not quite as nice as the previous times. She fell right out of bed, and landed on her floor with solid smack to the side of her head.

"Shit!" She yelled loudly, before realizing that Amy was in the next room, and would probably come running. She listened carefully for a moment, rubbing the sore bump, and picked herself off the floor as she remembered that Amy was actually over at her boyfriend's for the night. "Bugger. Stupid floor… Stupid bed… Stupid Jareth."

"Yes, that's right, JARETH. I called you stupid!" She stood beside her bed, rubbing her head and yelling at the ceiling. Her neighbors were going to hate her, but at this moment, she didn't care.

"I don't care if I'm going insane. You did this to me! You!" Stomping her foot in her most childish display of pique, she wandered out to the kitchen to get some ice.

"Stupid fucking Goblin King… Stupid dreams…" Ripping the freezer door open, Sarah grabbed out the ice tray and shoved half of what she found there into a tea towel to hold to her head. She sat at the breakfast bar, and switched on the television. Sleep was going to be a long time in coming now.

"That's it, I'm never sleeping again. Ever."

"How long have you been up Sarah?" Amy locked the door behind her, and took in the sight of Sarah sitting at the bar, a sodden tea towel on the table, and a large bowl of a very sugary cereal turning to mush in front of her. Sarah herself, looked like she was in danger of drowning in the cereal, with her head drooping closer and closer, large shadows under her eyes. She looked up at Amy in surprise.

"What time is it?"

"About 10. And that would be AM dearie. What are you doing up?" Amy put her bag down on the couch and sat down across from Sarah.

"Oh, God knows. Couldn't sleep, weird dreams. Been up for awhile."

"Why don't you go back to bed? It is Sunday…" She watched Sarah move her spoon through the soggy mush dejectedly.

"No, can't sleep." Sarah pushed her messy hair out of her eyes, and stretched with a yawn, arching her back. "Maybe I'll go for a run. Do some of that exercise stuff that everyone keeps talking about."

"Sounds good."

"Wanna come?"

"No fucking way."

"Ok then."

She breathed in deeply, feeling the sun on her face, and slowed to a walk as she approached to a bench facing the water. Sarah loved this park, it reminded her of the one that she used to go to when she was younger to act out her plays, and to get away from Karen. She smiled to remember that she used to feel like that, and also to the brat she used to be.

Flopping down on the bench, Sarah slipped her headphones off, and turned off her MP3 player to truly take in the waves lapping against the concrete barricades. She closed her eyes, and put her head back with a sigh.

"What a pity…" Her head jerked forward at those familiar words, and she looked around for the source. Nothing. It was beginning to worry her about the frequency of the dreams, were they going to be joined by daytime fantasies? Wonderful. Something else to obsess about.

She pulled the headphones back on, and kept jogging along the waterfront, working up a sweat on her pale face. Sarah pushed herself hard, and tried to pretend, even to herself, that she was not running from anything.


	4. Introducing Jareth

A/N: Enjoy. Thank you to all that have left such lovely reviews. :)

Sarah stared guiltily at the manuscript that for some reason, she could just not bring herself to look at over the weekend. The one about the fae boy, who was as yet unnamed. She had no idea why she had not read it, but it seemed like something stopped her everytime she tried. Sarah had read all of the other manuscripts, but this was the last one.

Sitting at her desk on a bright and cheerful Monday morning (post-coffee of course), and she was still staring at the thing. Forcing herself to take a sip of the cranberry juice that Julia kept leaving her each morning in the hopes that she might indulge in something that was not full of caffeine or sugar. "Good God, this stuff is awful…"

Instead of doing her work, Sarah decided it was time for a non-smoke break, and poked her head out to Julia to see if she wanted to come.

"Sure. Anything to get out of here for a few minutes." Julia grinned and grabbed her purse as they made their way outside of the building to the small coffee house next door.

"Oooh, coffee…" Sarah braced her forehead against the glass display beside the counter and stared in delight at the black liquid. "How pretty you are."

"Sarah, how many cups today?" Julia enquired as she watched her friend degenerate from twenty-two to five in the span of five minutes. She was like a kid at a candy store for Christ's sakes.

"Uhm." Sarah chewed her full bottom lip guiltily, shifty-eyed, "one?"

"Yeah right." Julia shook her head on the argument that was completely useless by this point. Honestly, it would be more worrisome to see Sarah caffeine-free by now than anything.

They found a small table in the window, and people-watched in companionable silence, sipping respective drinks.

"Hey Julia, what are you doing this weekend?" Sarah enquired over her cup.

"Hey Sarah, I have no idea." Julia took a gulp of her latte, "avoiding wedding plans mainly. You?"

"Nothing, no plans yet. Wanna come over and chill? Oooh, we could throw a party. Haven't done that in awhile!" Sarah beamed at the prospect.

"Might be amusing." Julia grinned at Sarah's enthusiasm. This was one of the reasons she was so fun to be around, she was just so open. You rarely had to guess at what she was thinking, because she tended to tell everyone everything. It was refreshing, to say the least.

_"Why? Why do we have to keep going over this, Sarah?" Jareth sneered at her from his seat, elegantly spearing another piece of food with his fork as he dealt with this annoyance._

_"Why? Why?! Because it's important to me! I know that you could care less, you've made that perfectly obvious, but I care! Please listen to me!" Sarah could feel tears in the corner of her eyes. "Please!"_

_He stood up and slammed both hands on the table that separated them. Sarah jumped, raising stricken eyes to his face. _

"_No. I am sick of this. You either understand my obligations, or you don't Sarah. That's all there really is to it. Obviously you don't." He smiled that cruel evil smile, "The door is over there anytime you need to use it." _

"_Do you even understand what you're saying?!" She jumped to her feet to face him, eyes flashing with anger._

"_Yes, unlike you, I do not say something in a childish pique, and then take it back with the next breath." He turned to leave, but stopped to throw over his shoulder, "When are you going to grow up?"_

_Jareth walked out of the dining hall to the sound of Sarah's wine goblet smashing on the door closing behind him. She sat back down, and cried bitterly with both hands covering her face._

Waking up with a gasp, Sarah stared around her darkened room, tears drying on her cheeks. That had felt so… real. She wiped at her eyes furiously, and looked to her alarm clock with a groan. Why had the dreams changed? None of it was real… They weren't even memories… But they felt so alive.

Sarah could feel the bitter anger, and sadness of the argument she had only dreamed moments before. She felt the same helpless frustration… And couldn't do anything about it. Wandering for a moment what the fight was about, she shook her head. Indulging these dreams was the last thing she needed.

The Labyrinth was now a distant memory for her. Like something out of a story book, she equated it with her childhood, and gave it as little importance as the cartoons she watched with Amy on weekend mornings with cereal. None of it meant anything, and she had a feeling that the Labyrinth and it's inhabitants were all figments of her incredibly overactive imagination. The only thing different… were these new dreams. Sarah didn't understand, and she didn't really want to. She wanted them gone.

Directly in front of her bed, was a full-length mirror. She stared at it a moment, and then inspiration struck. Pulling her pillow with her, she slid to sit on the carpet at the foot of her bed, and leaned back. Sarah checked her pajamas, making sure her shorts had not gone anywhere weird, and that her boobs were fully encased in the tank top, and then took a deep breath. Was she actually going to do this?

"Jareth. I need you." She said to her reflection. Obviously, she was going to do this. Sarah stared at herself for another moment, before sighing, almost wistfully, at her own foolishness. She leaned her head back against her bed, and stared at her ceiling. "This is silly. I'm stupid."

"And here I thought that I was the only one you called stupid." A dark rich voice drawled with amusement.

Sarah's neck snapped forward so fast, she feared whiplash. But there were bigger things to worry about, "Goblin King?"

There, in all of his dignity, in her mirror, he was. Almost as she had remembered, though perhaps slightly more… modern. She drank in the wild blond hair, the cruel mismatched eyes, the glowing paleness of his face. Sarah sighed, she bet he did nothing to keep his skin that beautiful, unlike her with her beauty regime of washing and moisturizing.

"Goblin King? Why, so formal Mistress Sarah." He smiled that familiar smile of a predator stalking it's prey, teeth glinting in the faint light from the street outside of her window.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah hugged her knees to her chest protectively and stared at him some more. Why did his hair have to look so shiny and silky?

"Are you going to stare at me all day, or did you actually ask me here for a reason?" He folded his arms across his chest and stared at her haughtily.

"I didn't ask you here!" Sarah was indignant at the prospect.

"Oh, well, maybe it was someone else, who looked exactly like you, who said in your voice, in your room may I add, and I quote, 'Jareth, I need you.'" He arched an eyebrow at this foolish conversation, "By the way, Sarah, if you truly… 'need' me, I would be more than happy to oblige."

"Not on your life!" Sarah shuddered at the thought, "You're not my type anyway. I like my men warm-blooded."

Jareth laughed, staring at her still with those strange, compelling eyes. "Oh Sarah, next thing I know, you're going to be yelling 'You have no power over me!' in a girlish falsetto."

"Oh, shut up! You'd think after this amount of time, you would have some sort of manners."

"My manners are impeccable. Now, you called me." He studied the back of his glove with great interest, "I haven't got all day."

"What, no friendly chit-chat, 'how's your day honey?'" Sarah snarked, glaring at him.

"I save my chit-chat for the important things." He paused to smile at her, "Honey."

"Good Lord."

"No Sarah, you may call me Jareth." He shook his head at her, "I thought we had gone over this already."

Sarah glared at him. He was thoroughly enjoying having the power in this little meeting, she could just tell. Goddammit, he was staring at his fucking gloves again.

She clenched her teeth. She was the one to call him, he did have a point there. "Jareth?" Her voice sounded strangled around her teeth, with she ground with frustration and anger.

"Yes my sweet." He smiled with innocence at her irritated face.

"Do you know anything about my dreams? Are you causing them?" There, what she had called him for.

"Yes, I do know about your dreams, and I do find it quite amusing that you think about me that often. I'm touched Sarah, really touched." He reclined back in his chair, in his side of the mirror, and waited for the outburst.

"That was not the question, damn it! Why does everything you say go in circles?"

"Perhaps you're not asking the right question." He stared at his leather-covered hand once again, looking up from under his blonde locks to smile at her briefly.

Sarah muttered darkly under her breath, feeling very annoyed. Think, she mentally chastised herself, you are much smarter than he is. You won! He lost! Why are you giving him the power here? Think breathing exercises, think yoga… she hated yoga, smug yoga bitches who were like pretzels… enough of that! Think long strolls, think Jack Johnson, think playing with Toby…

Jareth watched her closely as she closed her eyes, and breath in and out slowly. "Sarah, I have no idea what you are doing, but keep going."

Her eyes snapped open in the middle of her breathing exercises and found him staring at her chest rising and falling against the thin material of her tank top. "For the love of God!" She quickly crossed her arms over herself and glared at him again.

"No, darling, Jareth." He shook his head over games, and grinned at her again.

"No use, you're not going to get a rise out of me again. I am way too smart for you, not to mention mature and beautiful." She frowned at him, "And stare at my boobs like that again, and I will cut you."

Laughing, Jareth shook his head. He had forgotten just how amusing she could be to him. Besides that whole "My kingdom is as strong as yours" incident, that is.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, what do you know about my dreams? Why are they now different? Why do I keep having them? I can barely sleep. I need answers."

"I actually know about your dreams, but they are YOUR dreams. Not mine. So I believe this is your issue, not mine." Jareth crossed his arms again, and stared at her with an arrogant tilt to his head.

Sarah sighed with frustration, "You are not telling me everything, Jareth. I can sense it."

"Oh really? Am I that easy to read now?" He smiled at the thought.

"You're a…" She paused for dramatic emphasis, and leaned in close to the mirror in a conspiratorial manner. Sarah looked at him for a long moment, before sighing with frustration, and held up a finger to beckon him closer. Shocked, he sat forward at her command, a look of amusement crossing his face, "A piece of cake."

Sitting back with a nod, she chuckled a little at the look on his face. And then he threw his head back, and laughed loudly, razor-sharp teeth reminding her that she was not dealing with some mere mortal. Jareth looked back at her, still snickering.

"Oh Sarah, you should not have left the Underground. I could always use a court jester, and I think you are just perfect for that position."

"Hmm, well, tempting." She contemplated him for a moment with a serious face, "Don't think I'm not tempted. But if it involves working near you… Well, think up any childish insult you can and insert here. Thanks."

"Has the little kitten developed claws?" He grinned ferally, "how fascinating."

"Damn straight." Sarah contemplated him for a moment longer, "Do you really know nothing about my dreams, or are you just bullshitting again?"

"Search me." His thin lips curled up into a smile, "Actually, please do."

"Another time." Sarah yawned, and turned her back on him to crawl back up into bed. "Now go away, Goblin King, I need to sleep."

She refused to look at him again, and feigned sleep to the sound of his soft laughter. "Until next time Sarah…"


	5. The World Falls Down

A/N: Please review or email me, as I would like input. I seem to have problems getting to where I want to go with this, and I would love advice.

Sarah woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. She had not slept that well in… a long time. Perhaps years. No dreams had plagued her after her talk with Jareth the night before, and for that, she was grateful.

Jareth… Still a handsome devil, but a devil nonetheless. Sarah allowed herself a small smile. He no longer seemed as scary as he once had. Either he had changed… or she had. She still found him incredibly attractive though.

Flipping onto her stomache, she propped her chin on her hands and daydreamed for a moment, for once not having woken up too late and having to run out the door. She pleated her white comforter between her fingers, feeling the softness. Perhaps that was the same feeling of Jareth's hair… No, this type of thinking would get her no where.

Sarah thought about how far she had come since that lonely year when she had wished Toby away. She winced to think about it like that, but it was true. She had wished him away, so what had happened after was more than partially her fault. To her younger self, the world had seemed against her in every way, which she believed is how most fifteen year olds viewed the world.

After those thirteen hours, she had grown up in a way that was wholly unexpected. Karen and she had come to a mutual understanding, and then a bond had formed. Sarah had become an enthusiastic baby-sitter from then on, and she and Toby still were close. Karen had given birth to Aaron about five years later, when Sarah had already left home, but she was looking forward to really getting to know him as well when he was a little older.

Toby was now a precious nine year old, who loved trucks and sports, and loved Sarah's stories about a foolish girl who wished her little brother away. He was especially found of how she would mimic the voices of the various characters she would encounter throughout the world of mazes.

That actually reminded her that Karen was supposed to come down for the day, and that she had taken today off work just for that purpose. Sarah perked up immediately, and grabbed her cellphone off of her bedside table and called her step-mother.

"Hello?"

"Hi Karen! What time are you going to be here?" Sarah smiled and stretched her toes out under her covers.

"Oh, I should be there in about an hour. I'm just trying to get Toby to school, and Aaron to daycare. Be ready, young lady!" Karen laughed, trying to play the evil step-mother.

"Yeah yeah, see you when you get here." Sarah smiled, and clicked 'end call'. She lounged for awhile longer, hearing Amy leave for her job as a school teacher at the local elementary school, before getting up to make some breakfast.

Luckily, Amy had actually left a couple of eggs, and Sarah pulled the only piece of work she allowed herself to bring home on her day off to the side of her plate as she dug into her breakfast.

It was the manuscript that she still had not finished. While it was long for children's literature, but still, she really should have finished by now, and felt guilty for letting down the writer like that.

In minutes, she was lost in the world of the faery courts, following the adventures of the bright blonde-haired little boy. He was incredibly precocious, but he had the weight of responsibility on his shoulders as her prepared to take over a portion of his family's kingdom.

She read, intrigued by the imagination of the writer….

_The Boy had been born to privilege. But we all know, that privilege brings responsibility. He did not want this responsibility, wishing for nothing more than to play with his friends, and to watch the grass grow and tickle his nose. _

_Sometimes, during his lessons, he would watch the clock tick backwards, as if to spite him. Sometimes, the clock would stop all together, and would not start again until he gave a very large sigh. _

_His teacher was very ugly, with a horribly long nose with large green dots, glowing yellow eyes, and long teeth that looked more suited to a panther than a teacher. He was a particularly unpleasant fellow, named Sir Matthews, and he did not like the little Boy. _

_He did not like him so much, that sometimes he would have to step outside of the classroom so he would not have to look upon the Boy again. _

Sarah chuckled at the sheer amount of exaggerated examples, children tended to love those kind of details, and this writer was on target for a good demographic at this point. She read on further as the author described the lessons the boy was subject to, until the boy's family was described.

_His Mother, was a beautiful faery, but she was not very kind. All of her beauty had fled from her insides, and settled on the outside. Everyone knows that beauty should be inside, but the Boy's Mother had gotten confused. She spent long hours in front of the mirror simply staring at herself, and would not play with the boy no matter how much he begged, and cried._

_His Father was also beautiful, but he was a goblin. An extraordinary goblin, as he had light skin and was so tall he seemed to touch the sky. He was very nice to the Boy, but very busy, as he was very important. The Boy knew that he should not ask his Father to play, and so he had two friends that would play with him._

_His one friend was named Ransom, and he was an elf, and very mischievous. He made up pranks for the Boy to play, such as hiding his Mother's special mirror, and running away as she yelled and screamed at the loss. Ransom also liked to throw rocks at little girls, and stick out his tongue at his elders. He was quite naughty._

_His other friend was named Keirnan, and Keirnan was very quiet. Keirnan loved books so much that he often got his nose stuck in their spines, and could not free himself without the help of the boy. He did not much like Ransom's pranks, but helped the Boy get out of trouble that Ransom would often cause. Keirnan was a faery, but he had black hair, and dark skin, and some whispered that he couldn't be a faery with that kind of colouring. _

_Keirnan also seemed to be able to see the future, though it looked hazy, and he often told the Boy that he was capable of greatness. The Boy though, did not want to be great. He wanted to be normal. He wanted to be a mortal like those that he saw in still water, those that lived in the Aboveground. These mortals were all humans, and he longed to live in their world. They always seemed happy, they always seemed to love each other. He had never seen anything like that in his world. He longed for it… Everytime he passed a pond… a lake… sometimes even a mirror, he could see little boys just like him, playing with their Moms and Dads, and everyone smiled, and laughed. It looked wonderful. _

_Ransom would make fun of the Boy for staring into water for so longer at these beings, but Keirnan seemed to understand. _

Sarah put down the story as she came to the end of the chapter, and checked her watch. Time to get ready for Karen. She left the story on the buffet, and went to shower.

Letting herself back into the apartment later that evening, Sarah was still laughing as she tried to balance the large box of her old belongings Karen had brought, along with all of the shopping she had done.

"Honey, I'm home!" Sarah called out, hoping Amy was around to help her carry the bags. No such luck. She managed not to drop anything until she reached her bed, and then turned to unpack the box, and see what exactly was there.

Her old costumes… Sarah smiled, remembering long afternoons with her old dog Merlin in the park… some of her old jewellery, her old stories and plays… She left the rest of it in the box to look at later. Some of the stuff at least was going to be donated to a charity store.

She turned to go back to the kitchen to see to a bit of food, when suddenly she felt a great tug on her mind. Sarah stopped dead in her tracks, a hand to her forehead, wobbling in place, "What the hell…"

It happened again. This time, Sarah could not stay on her feet. She sank down to sit on the floor, gasping at the pain. Once more, and her world went black.


	6. Down to the Underground

_"Jareth, would you move the stars for me?" Sarah teased gently as they lay in the palace gardens watching the night sky. She turned to look at him with a smile._

_Jareth grinned, "For you dearest, anything!" He jumped up, pulling her with him, and spun her in a wild dance._

_"Anything?!" Sarah yelled as she laughed, out of breath from his crazy mood._

_"You turn my world, you starve and near exhaust me, and everything I do, I do for you." He kept spinning her around in the moonlight._

_"I would move the stars for you… I would be with you as the world crashes down, whatever you say, My Lady, I am yours." He abruptly grabbed her out of the spin and pressed her against his long length. Jareth's teeth gleamed at her in the darkness as he smiled, a tender little smile, "Are you mine?"_

_Sarah reached up to tug his mouth down to hers, "Always."_

Funny… She had never noticed that she appeared older in these newer dreams. It was still her… But maybe ten years older.

Her bed was a lot harder than she remembered. Did it always feel like sand? Sarah's head pounded as she slowly raised her head. She was not in her bed… She was not in her world by the looks of things. She was back in the Underworld.

Shivering as the humid air hit her bare legs, Sarah stood up, slightly queasy with a sick feeling. Something was… wrong. "What am I doing here?"

There was a perfect view of the Labyrinth from this little hill, and Sarah sat back down for a moment to think over what had happened, and what she was going to do. Well, logically, only one person would have the ability to bring her back, but she couldn't see why. Jareth had made his attraction clear, but he also looked on her as an annoyance.

"Jareth? JARETH!" She called loudly, hoping that he might be able to answer a question or two, but alas, nothing happened. Sarah sighed. Not good. Hysteria was only just at the back of her mind, and she called on her yoga breathing to help her through this.

Ok, yoga breathing not working. Plan B.. She didn't have a Plan B, she didn't have a Plan A. Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod… Ok, calm down. Think happy thoughts. Coffee… Ohmigod, if she was stuck down here, she would never have coffee again!

Sarah shot to her feet, and started toward the wall guarding the Labyrinth. Not noticing the fairies that seemed to be intent on biting her, she ran right to the cleared space where once there was a door, and started banging wildly on the stone, screaming for help.

"Let me in, let me in, let me in!" Sarah yelled at the top of her lungs. Well, the yoga HAD done something after all.

If she had not been so intent on this wall, she would have noticed the presence of a young man behind her, staring at her in fascination. He wasn't quite sure how to get her attention, as she seemed rather upset. And loud.

"Excuse me?"

"Ahhh!!" Sarah jumped and fell over, landing in the dust at his feet. She quickly picked herself up and stared at him accusingly. "Who are you? Did _he_ send you? Do you know how to get into the Labyrinth?"

He stared at her a moment. She was very beautiful, but very odd. And loud. Her long chocolate-brown hair tumbled down her back in wild disarray, and shorter strands stuck to the sides of her pale heart-shaped face, and in her bright green eyes. He was somewhat speechless.

Sarah's eyes narrowed as the man in front of her said nothing, but looked at her haughtily, startlingly reminiscent of Jareth. That clinched her anger. She now had a focus.

Leaning forward to grab his shirt collar, she dragged him down to her eye level, "Look, you, I need answers, and I need them now. I do not have all the time in the world. You will help me, or you will be sorry."

She let go of him, and watched as he sputtered and quickly took a couple of steps away from her.

"How dare you? Do you know who I am? I am-"

"Oh save it, right at this moment, I do not care if you sprout horns and jump around with a pitchfork."

He stared at her, dumbfounded. No one had ever spoken to him like that. She was a hellion. A shrew.

"Can you even talk? Oh wait, you can. Can you say anything besides arrogant dribble?" Sarah challenged, taking a step towards him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Is that a no?"

"No, it's a..." He shook his head, red hair flying in his eyes, "Now, who are you? And why do you speak to me in this way?"

"I'm Sarah. Who are you?"

"I am Ransom. Now, why are you acting like a mad-woman?"

"I'm not acting like a- Wait, Ransom? That's a very uncommon name." Sarah thought furiously where she had heard it. Of course, the story.

"It's not _that_ uncommon, and I quite like it."

"Oh never mind that, do you also have a friend… a faery named Keirnan?" It was Ransom's turn to look shocked.

"How do you know Keirnan?" His amethyst eyes widened, "Are you a seer? A prophet?"

"Oh for the love of- no, I had read a story… and well… never mind. Do you know the way to the castle? At the centre of the Labyrinth?" She turned back to the wall, inspecting it closely, half believing that it would open when she least expect it like last time.

"Yes, do you have business there?" Ransom looked at her curiously, her odd behavior making him nervous. She really did not seem in complete control of her faculties. Plus, she was mildly terrifying, but quite magnificent in her anger.

"That would definitely be one way of putting it. I need to speak to the Goblin King," She clenched her teeth around his name, "Jareth."

"You're not really dressed for court you know." He looked at her in puzzlement, trying to figure out how she would know that name.

"Oh really? Well, I seem to have forgotten the ballgown." She sneered, "Now, Ransom, how would we go about getting to that castle?"

"Uhm, well, give me a moment, and I'll take us the normal way." He reached out to grasp her arm, and felt her stiffen at his touch. How very odd.

Sarah felt a great tingle, and closed her eyes involuntarily. When she opened them, they were in the throne room of the Goblin King's castle. Looking around, she noticed few differences between now and her previous visit. Still had that… Goblin smell. Yum.

Wrinkling her nose, she glanced back at the red-headed elf, "Ransom? Thank you."

His eyes widened, he had not really expected manners from this loud… woman. She smiled at him, and again he was taken by how beautiful she really was. Lucky Jareth.

"Now, where is Jareth?" She narrowed her eyes, "We need to have words."

Maybe not-so-lucky Jareth. Ransom felt like laughing, but his face remained stony, expressionless. Sarah sighed. "How do I find him? I do not feel like running all over this castle looking for him."

"Call out his name, My… Lady." Ransom stepped back from her as she began to look angry again.

"I tried that before."

"Well, it wouldn't work outside of the castle unless he was already focused on you. And even then he has to decide if he will answer or not."

Sarah sighed. It was worse than the DMV. "Jareth! Come out come out wherever you are!" She twirled in a circle, mocking the process. Ransom just sighed and checked to see how close he was to the door. This woman made him nervous and paranoid about an escape route.

"Why, Sarah. To what do I owe…" Jareth's voice trailed off as he noticed his friend slowly edging out the door, "Ransom? I had thought you had left already."

"Oh, Jareth, well, don't get me wrong, I always enjoy your company…" Sarah smiled all sweetness and innocence across her pale face, "but… what the _fuck _am I doing here?"

"So that's why you're trying to get out that door!" Jareth remarked to his friend who laughed nervously at Sarah's anger, "Now Sarah, I have no idea. Did you really 'need' me that much?" He turned to walk to his throne, and sprawled lazily across it, smirking at her.

"I was just leaving, Your Majesty, but I found… her… on the outer wall of your Labyrinth. I think she is a madwoman, but she did know your name." Ransom outlined for his king, and bowed smartly.

"Madwoman?" Sarah turned to stare at him.

"Enough. Sarah, what are you doing here? How did you get to the Underground?" Jareth stared at her, brows narrowed.

"I didn't do anything! You did this to me! I want to go home. Now." She stamped her foot for drama, and winced as she remembered she wasn't wearing any shoes.

"You will address me in this place with the due respect, Sarah." His eyes narrowed, "And I will send you back as soon as I figure out how you did this."

"Your Majesty, will you be needing me?" Ransom sure as hell hoped not.

"No, you are excused." Jareth looked up from the girl to smile at his friend, "Send my greetings along to fair Ariadne."

"Thank you." Ransom vanished.

"Look, I don't know what's going on. I did not wish anyone away, I did not do anything. I just want to leave."

"Fine, be gone from this place. I will investigate. But if I find you have done anything, I will be most… upset." Jareth smiled cruelly, and waved his hand in her direction.

Sarah found herself back in the middle of her apartment. "What the hell was that? Fucked up fairy kings… Yeah, that's right, you heard me!" She yelled at the ceiling.

"Shut up!" Her upstairs neighbour had a bad temper sometimes.

"Sorry!"

_Sarah whistled happily to herself as she swept into the bed chamber to locate her hairbrush. Working the tangles out of her hair, she watched the gardens from her window. She loved seeing the still water of the pond there… the mortal world, the Aboveground. _

_She twirled, and quickly tied her long hair up with a ribbon. Again, she looked out the window, and smiled as she saw her love standing on the far end of the gardens. Her smile grew dreamy as she fantasized about last evening… and the upcoming one. Sarah giggled a little and put her hands to her cheeks. She really was acting like a child now. _

_Suddenly, Sarah's smile faltered… Jareth was not alone. He was with a woman with bright blonde hair, holding her. Kissing her. Sarah closed her eyes, and gave herself a shake. There was just no way possible… She was dreaming. Opening her eyes, she realized that it was not a dream. A tear made it's way down her cheek._

_Running, she flew down the stairs, through the castle, and out to the gardens, "Jareth?!"_

_There had to be an explaination. "Jareth!"_

_The couple broke apart as Sarah ran toward them, her hair scattering out of it's ribbon, skirts flying up with dirt. _

_"Your Majesty, do you know this woman?" The blonde faery stared in Sarah in slight awe at her apparent passion… and anger._

_"Yes." Jareth looked resigned, "I do."_

_"Sarah," Jareth put up his hand before she could say anything further, "I would like to introduce you to my fiancé, Princess Ariadne of the Western fae realms."_


	7. Generous

Sarah shook her head. Her world was topsy-turvy, and not in the fun psychedelic sense of the word. She flopped onto her stomache in the middle of her bed and starting checking off each point of craziness on her fingers.

"1 crazy Goblin King, 2 crazy dreams, 3 didn't have enough sugar today, 4 still haven't finished that manuscript even though we all know that it blatantly references the aforementioned crazy Goblin King, 5 we need milk, 6 I'm talking to myself again." Sarah stopped her checklist of crazy, and screamed into her pillow like the angsty teenage girl she felt like right at that moment. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Sarah focused on what she did know. Not much.

Oh, and then there was her attraction to crazy Goblin King. Can't forget about that part. As if things weren't complicated enough. Sarah sat straight up in her mind, mouth open, an epiphany.

"Oh my… has he been watching me?" She thought back furiously to when he had visited her… and the comment that he made about how he thought that he was the only one she called stupid, which she had… a few nights before. How could he know about that?

"Oh, that bugger. How long has he been watching me for? When has he been watching me?" She jumped off her bed and started pacing in front of the door. Sarah looked around her room, haunted, how could he be watching her? And hearing her for that instance.

"Sarah… you look… upset." A smooth drawl brought her attention to her mirror. Sarah squeaked and spun around to face the wickedly smiling Jareth clad only in a pair of very low-slung black leather pants. His pale, smoothly muscled upper-body glistened in the fading light. Without thinking, Sarah licked her dry lips at the sight.

Jareth coughed, "Well, come on, let's have it."

"Have what?" She couldn't quite tear her eyes away from where his pants seemed to be in danger of revealing more than a little trail of bright golden-white hair.

"You seemed to be talking to yourself about me." He stared at her in amusement, one corner of his mouth quirking.

"Oh… Yes! Yes I was." Sarah jerked her head to make eye contact with him, "Do you watch me?"

"Sometimes." He admitted without a hint of guilt.

"Why?" Sarah stared at him.

"You amuse me." Jareth smiled wickedly at the look of outrage on her pale face.

"Do you watch me a lot?"

"Whenever the mood strikes me."

"When does it strike you?" She clenched her fists to her sides, but somehow, she was not surprised. This rather confirmed what she had felt in the years after the Labyrinth… that at times, she was not alone. She had used to hold that feeling in high regard, as it had staved off periods of loneliness, but now she just felt mildly violated.

Sarah shivered, and was so busy concentrating on rubbing her arms, that she didn't hear the answer to her question. "Excuse me?"

Jareth sighed, mildly irritated, "At different times."

"Oh. When was the last time?"

"When you called me stupid, and then you called me stupid again a few nights ago."

"Time before that?"

"Why don't I just show you?" Jareth smiled evilly at her, eyes narrowing as they took in her contemplative look.

"How would you go about doing that?"

"Here," Jareth held out his hand, through the mirror. Sarah stared at him in horror. It was quite one thing to converse with the crazy Goblin King in one's mirror, it was another to see a hand reaching out that you were obviously expected to touch, "No way!"

"Sarah, don't defy me." He stared at her, and held out his leather covered hand once more.

Against her better judgement, Sarah reached out her own slim hand, and touched her fingers gently to his.

Suddenly, visions flashed behind her eyes, and she gasped. They were all of her… _walking in the park… eating ice cream… watching movies… eating chocolate… chatting with her friends… sleeping… eating chips… laughing with her head thrown back… Finally, these dizzying images came to just one… And there it lingered. _

She immediately recognized her night with Finn… _leaving the club together so incredibly intoxicated by lust and alcohol. Falling into a cab, Sarah straddling the larger figure, kissing deeply. His hands were stroking her thighs where the very short skirt had ridden up. _

Sarah blushed at these images, but Jareth refused to let her fingers go. _Arriving at Finn's apartment, kissing in the elevator to his floor. As he opened the door to the apartment, _Sarah found herself watching… herself. _She reached up to pull his mouth down to her with one hand, while her other hand found the fastenings of his pants, and quickly disappeared inside. _

_Finn's head arched backwards as her hands obviously found their goal, and he moaned. She just smiled wickedly up at him, before pulling his hand up her shirt. _

Sarah wrenched herself away from the smirking Goblin King quickly. Face burning, she turned away from him… He had seen everything.

"Is there something the matter, Sarah?" She hated how he said her name… Drawing out the syllables as if he possessed them.

"Get out." She turned back to face him, green eyes glowing. "Get out, and never come back."

"Really. Do you even understand what you are saying?" He mocked her, but the words struck a cord. She had heard those words before.

Not giving herself a chance to think of where, she responded, "Get out, and never come back. Do not spy on me, do not think of me, I hate you."

Jareth raised a cruel eyebrow at her, and smirked fully.

"Go! You have no power over me!" His smile vanished, and he stared at her stonily for a moment longer.

"Fine, Sarah. I will not come back." Jareth reclined in his seat, "But the next time you call me, I will not be quite so generous."

Sarah turned her back on him.


	8. Dreamers

A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews. This story is taking on monumental proportions, and I am still sorting out all of the plot. Should be interesting if nothing else. Enjoy!

_"I hate you!" Sarah screamed at Jareth, walking toward the door of the castle. A leather-covered hand grabbed her elbow and jerked her back roughly._

_"The feeling, my dear, is more than mutual at this moment." Jareth growled, bending down so that their eyes were inches apart. As if by magnetic pull, her eyes fell to his lips, remembering their power… remembering how they felt, how they made her feel._

_Jareth noticed her perusal and smiled cruelly at her, hooking a finger under her chin to pull her head up to look at him. "Ah yes, even through the screaming… Sex. The only consistent, isn't?"_

_Sarah pulled away from him with a jerk, and felt the bruises that were starting to appear on her elbow where his hand had held her. "Shut up." She growled._

_"Why?" He smirked, eyeing her coolly as she backed away from him, "I am not your knight in shining armour, Sarah. I have been oh-so-generous, and yet, you can not get over yourself. You do not, and can not understand my obligations, no matter what I say. Are you really that immature?"_

_"Shut up!" She screamed. Raising her hand, she quickly slapped him across his palely cruel face. A grim silence fell between them, as his face turned dangerous in that instant. Her eyes widened when she realized exactly what she had done._

_Slowly, Jareth's hand reached up to gently finger the side of his face that was tingling. His mismatched eyes narrowed._

_"I have killed for less," His chin raised to look down at her. Sarah shivered… She hated this side of him. Hated… and feared. He had an incredible capacity for cruelness, and she knew it. She had seen it used against others… but never herself._

_Sarah forced her head back defiantly, "You seek to harm me Jareth? What a big man you are… seeking to hurt a female. Mortal no less."_

_Quicker than she would have believed possible, he pushed her up against the stone wall across the room. Sarah shrieked, and made to hit him again. Her hand came up, to be caught by him. They struggled for a moment until she ended up with both arms over her head, held there by one of his much larger palms. _

_Breathing heavily, Sarah stared up at him, soft mouth open in shock. She then started laughing, hysterically, at what she could feel against her pelvis as he held her body to the wall with his own._

_Jareth frowned slightly at her, "This is not the best time for you to be laughing, if you had not noticed." His voice was frozen, each syllable clipped out in his fury._

_"Oh, I think it is a perfect time." Sarah stopped laughing to glare up at him, rich chestnut hair thrown back in wild disarray, "After all, sex…the only consistent, right sweetheart?" She threw the sentiment in his face with a venomous twist of her lips._

_Jareth smiled. A thin, slow, cruel smile, as he ground his hips into her. At the sudden look of desire in the green depths of her eyes, he moved his free hand up to pull down the low neckline of her gown, and roughly tugged on her nipple. Sarah gasped, her eyes closing against her will._

_"Sarah." His voice was insistent. "Sarah."_

_She dragged her eyes open to look at him, a dreamy smile across her face, "Yes?"_

_"Sarah Rossa," Jareth stated in a cold formal voice, as he stepped away from her completely, "You are hereby banished from my kingdom."_

_Sarah's eyes widened, "What?"_

_"You are hereby banished." His eyes glinted in the low light, "Forever. Leave now."_

_Sarah looked at him, in shock, her rosy lips parted as she stared at him, trying to read the expression in his eyes, "You can not be serious, Jareth."_

_"Do not use my name, woman." Jareth turned from her and started to walk away. "You are to have left my lands by tonight, or you will have more to fear than a swim in the Bog. Do you understand me?"_

_"But-"_

_"I will take that as a yes." He turned his head to stare at her coolly, "I never want to see you again."_

_Jareth, King of the Goblins, walked away, as Sarah crumpled to the floor crying._

Jareth woke up with a start, the memory sticking in his head. He had fallen asleep in his window seat again, looking out over the vast Labyrinth. Shaking his head, he conjured up his crystals and slowly moved them over his fingers absentmindedly. She had left after that fight… For good. He had not seen her again for many hundreds of years.

Snapping his fingers, the crystals popped, and he stood up to stretch, realizing he was still just wearing the low-slung leather pants from when he had seen Sarah last. Jareth frowned and rubbed a hand across his eyes.

She had not changed that much. Still spoiled… still immature… still a brat… but there had always been something… Something that he was drawn to. She brought out the worst in him, but sometimes the best… He smiled wickedly at some of the better moments with her.

He remembered that she had in effect banished him earlier in the night, and he smiled at the irony. This much time had passed, and yet they still went through the same motions.

Pulling up another crystal, he threw it against the wall, wincing as shards rained down. They had always been so volatile… That had turned him on so much at first… But he had quickly realized that she would not be able to stand at his side as a Queen, much as he had wished otherwise. Her very nature prevented her from realizing that in order to stand with him, she had to come after the kingdom. She had never been able to accept his loyalty had to come before his Queen.

Ariadne had understood. Jareth smiled tenderly as he thought about his former fiancé. She had understood right up until the moment she had met the mischievous Ransom, and been completely entranced.

Running a hand through his wild hair, he grimaced as a long finger caught on a tangle. He thought about long, thick chocolate locks, spread out on his dark pillow, a pale grinning face almost overwhelmed by all of that hair. Jareth shook his head again, and headed to where one of the invisibles had left steaming water. There was so much more to do besides think about the one female who he could not have… despite the want.

_Sarah ran into the room, and bounced onto the large bed, laughing gleefully. A tall blonde figure chased after her, and paused as he watched her jumping on his bed. Smiling, he walked to the side and laughed softly at the picture she made._

_Hair wild with the chase, Sarah tilted her head to one side, and looked at him with intense concentration, "Well?"_

_"Well what, My Lady?" Jareth grinned as she walked over to him. In this position, the top of his head came to her stomache. He looked up at her as she braced herself on his shoulders, his fingers wrapping around her waist, holding her steady._

_"Well? Are you just going to stand there staring at me?" Her eyes narrowed in an exaggerated sexy look. "Or are you going to join me?" Her voice lowered to a husky pitch._

_Jareth laughed softly, and pulled on a lock of her, pulling her mouth down to kiss him, "I might. What's in it for me?"_

_She considered for a moment, tapping a finger against her chin, "Hmm… actually on second thought, maybe it's better that you stay away." She grinned and turned to walk to the other side of the bed. She broke out into laughter as he quickly pulled her down and settled between her thighs._

_Sarah pouted up at him for a moment, "No fair…"_

_"You say that so often Sarah…" He leaned down to suck on the pulse at the base of her neck, before raising his head to look at her face, "I wonder what your basis for comparison is?" He grinned and went back to ravishing her neck._

_She sighed lustily, and ran her hands through his wild blonde hair, "Who cares? Just keep doing that." Sarah could feel him smile against her skin as his hand pulled up her heavy skirt to trace patterns on her smooth thigh._

_"I am your slave…" He murmured before his lips traveled lower._

Sarah's eyes opened slowly, languidly. Stretching her arms over her head, she arched her back feeling sensuous after the emotions that the dream had brought up.

"Sarah! Chica! I'm heading out for breakfast, wanna come?" Amy yelled from the other room, startling Sarah out of her reverie. She frowned slightly, shaking her head.

"Sure, give me a minute!" Sarah called back.

At work later that day, Sarah looked around her desk in disbelief. She had put that manuscript, which she was now beginning to believe was more than a manuscript, into her briefcase, and yet it was not there now. It was just gone.

"Shit." She muttered to herself, taking a gulp of the cool coffee sitting on her desk.

"Julia!"

"Yes?" Julia's red hair made an appearance inside the door before Julia. "What's up?"

"Have you seen a manuscript by J. Smith?"

"Nope. I'll let you know if I do see it though." Julia smiled and went back to her desk.

"Shit." Sarah scolded herself. There was no way she could loose manuscripts. Bracing her elbows on the table, she sighed to herself. She had not been having a good day so far. Those dreams… she kept thinking about them, and what everything meant.

Sarah was fairly certain Jareth didn't really have anything to do with why she was dreaming… but he had surprised her before.

_Sarah was dressed in a simple white linen shift dress, stained green at the knees from when she had knelt to pick the wildflowers that grew in the middle of the field outside of her village._

_She looked young, but she was marriageable age. Her father had actually casually mentioned that he was looking into possible suitors for her already. Sarah smiled absentmindedly, and picked another flower to add to the bunch that were already tucked into the large basket at her side. _

_Humming, she looked out across the fields to the wilderness beyond the small village and smiled. She wanted to see beyond their borders… to go places. The village was a lonely place filled with people that had known her since she was born. There was no excitement, nothing interesting beyond the tedium of everyday life. _

_Reaching down to pick another flower, her eyes spotted something that was out of the ordinary. A man wearing black animal skin britches, and knee length highly polished black boots, with a flowing white shirt made of some indefinable material was striding towards her. _

_Sarah quickly stood up, brushing her simple dress of dirt and debris, and pushing the hair that had escaped back under her veil. She looked at the ground as he approached, not wanting to appear rude._

_"My Lady." He had a strange accent, and very strange looks. She peaked up at him to take in the unnaturally yellow-white hair, hair the colour of gold, and the pale skin that spoke of vast aristocracy. _

_"My Lord." Sarah curtseyed slightly, not sure what else to do with this strange man who stared at her._

_"What is your name, good Lady?" _

_Cheeks pink with blush, Sarah whispered her name, and that of her father to this man, and again looked at her hands which she held clasped in front of her._

_"Lady Sarah," His hand came out to gently cup her chin and pull her eyes to his, "I do not bite."_

_"Oh My Lord, have I offended you?" She started wringing her hands. Her father would not be happy to learn that not only was she speaking to a man un-chaperoned, but that she might have brought ridicule to a Lord._

_He smiled, showing white teeth that glinted in the harsh sunlight, "No, not at all. I just wanted to see your lovely eyes." His smile widened when he saw her blush deepen._

_"My name is Jareth." He said simply. She wondered at the informal tone, and looked back at him as he chuckled at her discomfort. Her eyes narrowed, spitting fire that he might be teasing her._

_"Oh then, this kitten has claws after all." He seemed pleased to note that. Sarah smiled hesitantly, basking in the sight of his smile._

_"Tell me Sarah… Have you ever left your village?" He raised a pale eyebrow at her, "Have you ever seen what lies beyond the borders?"_

_"No, My Lord." Sarah shook her head, her eyes brightening at the mention._

_"Please, call me Jareth." He stared down at her, hypnotizing her with his strangely compelling eyes, "Would you like to leave? Would you like to explore?"_

_Sarah's mouth opened, and then closed. This was her secret wish. She smiled, but then thought of her family. Her mother would miss her terribly, and her father would be very angry. Her eyes clouded over, and she shook her head mutely._

_"Ah, but what if they don't even realize you're gone?"_

_She stared up at him, "You can do that?" _


End file.
